The film will be produced by Belen Atienza, who teamed with Bayona on "The Impossible" and "The Orphanage," and is planned for a fall 2016 release. It will be distributed by Focus Features domestically, Universal Pictures International for its theatrical and home entertainment release in Spain and Lionsgate International in the rest of the world.

"A Monster Calls," based on the book by Patrick Ness, centers on a boy who attempts to deal with his mother's illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales. Ness wrote the novel based on an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd and his adapted screenplay made the Black List of best unproduced screenplays in December.